Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Emily Don is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Natural Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering at Macquarie University with a focus on teaching in biomedical sciences and research involving zebrafish models of neurodegenerative disease. Emily completed her PhD in the Department of Anatomy and Histology at the University of Sydney. Her PhD researched focused on the genetic basis of limb development and loss using zebrafish as a model system. In 2013, she joined the newly formed Motor Neuron Disease Research Centre at Macquarie University to transition into neuroscience research by applying her previous experience in zebrafish models to the field of motor neuron disease research. After increasingly engaging with the developing teaching program in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, in 2018, Emily was appointed as a lecturer of Professional Practice, reflecting her keen interest in the intersection of research and professionalism. Since then, Emily has continued to pursue her educational specialist goals by convening and leading teaching in a variety of subjects in an innovative and student first approach in the School of Natural Sciences.
Teaching
Dr Emily Don empowers students to thrive in studying Medical Sciences by leading teams to create engaging, student first teaching environments. She first began teaching in 2010 at the University of Sydney. She has diverse teaching interests in subjects ranging from physiology to professionalism in the clinical sciences, anatomy and histology, motor neuron disease and genetics. She has completed the Foundations in Learning and Teaching course and has been awarded an AHEA fellowship. She has recently become the Director of the B.Medical Sciences. She has a keen focus on engaging, online delivery of lecture content combined with on campus tutoring and is currently teaching the following classes:
Unit Convenor -Systems Physiology and Advanced Human Physiology
Guest lecture/tutor:
BIOL3120 -Human Genetics and Evolutionary Medicine
MEDI8001 -Macquarie MD
Teaching and Leadership
As a level C academic, Emily is developing her teaching leadership through continued training and participates in the following teaching leadership activities:
Director of Bachelor of Medical Sciences
Member of the School of Natural Sciences Education Committee
Previous Member of the B.ClinSci Professional Practice working group
Founding Member of FSE T&L Community of Practice
Member of Macquarie University's Teaching and Leadership community of practice
Associate Fellow of Macquarie University's HDR Supervision Framework
Awardee of Higher Education Academy Fellowship
Member B.ClinSci Learning Outcomes review committee
Peer-Reviewer Beginning to Teach program
Research interests
Dr Don has previously developed a molecular toolkit for the generation of zebrafish models of neurodegenerative disease. Using this toolkit, the team has established several zebrafish models of motor neuron disease and transgenic lines for the in vivo, real time study of the nervous system. Emily’s research aims to build on that work by developing a molecular toolkit of genetically encoded reporters in order to study the development and aging of the nervous system and the pathology of neurodegenerative disease in zebrafish models.
Research student supervision
Associate Supervisor
-Natalie Scherer, PhD
-Andres Vidal-Itriago, PhD
-Sarah Hajama, MRes2
Previous students
-Nicholas Kakaroubas, MRes2, Primary Supervisor
-Maddy Tym, MRes2
-Alison Hogan, PhD
-Jack Stoddart, PhD
Community engagement
Ex-President and Founding Member of the FMHHS EnCouRage network for ECRs. Current liasion between FSE and EnCouRage
Previous Member Executive Group of the Macquarie University Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research
Previous Member Philantropy Group of the Macquarie University Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research
Previous State Representative for the Australia and New Zealand Cell and Developmental Biology society
Previous Internal Contact for Franklin Women Academic Partner with MQ Health
External positions
Fingerprint
- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Communication in videoconference lab meetings
White, S., Don, E. & Rowland, J.
20/07/20 → 1/12/22
Project: Research
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Inducing autophagy to treat motor neuron disease
Laird, A., Don, E., Shahheydari, H., Cole, N. & Nicholson, G.
15/03/18 → 14/03/19
Project: Other
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Examining the unique susceptibility of neurons in Motor Neuron Disease (MND)
Shahheydari, H., Don, E. & Atkin, J.
1/01/18 → 31/12/19
Project: Other
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Macquarie University Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research
Blair, I., Rowe, D., Guillemin, G., Chung, R., Atkin, J., Cole, N., Laird, A., Lim, E., Williams, K., Yang, S., Morsch, M., Lee, A., Shi, B., Walker, A. K., Lovejoy, D., Furlong, S., Adams, L., Syal, D., Bazzi, R., Svahn, A., Parakh, S., Shahheydari, H., Konopka, A., Ragagnin, A., Mehta, P., Wright, A., Bourbon, L., Sabaretnam, M., Don, E., Hortle, E., De Luca, A., Zhang, K., Tarr, I., Galper, J., Varney, B., Chow, S. & Formella, I.
1/01/17 → 31/12/19
Project: Research
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C9orf72-associated dipeptide repeat expansions perturb ER-golgi vesicular trafficking, inducing golgi fragmentation and ER stress, in ALS/FTD
Sultana, J., Ragagnin, A. M. G., Parakh, S., Saravanabavan, S., Soo, K. Y., Vidal, M., Jagaraj, C. J., Ding, K., Wu, S., Shadfar, S., Don, E. K., Deva, A., Nicholson, G., Rowe, D. B., Blair, I., Yang, S. & Atkin, J. D., Dec 2024, In: Molecular Neurobiology. 61, 12, p. 10318-10338 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)21 Downloads (Pure) -
RNA-binding properties orchestrate TDP-43 homeostasis through condensate formation in vivo
Scherer, N., Maurel, C., Graus, M., McAlary, L., Richter, G., Radford, R. A. W., Hogan, A., Don, E. K., Lee, A., Yerbury, J., Francois, M., Chung, R. S. & Morsch, M., 22 May 2024, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 52, 9, p. 5301-5319 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile6 Citations (Scopus)58 Downloads (Pure) -
Treatment with sodium butyrate induces autophagy resulting in therapeutic benefits for spinocerebellar ataxia type 3
Watchon, M., Robinson, K. J., Luu, L., An, Y., Yuan, K. C., Plenderleith, S. K., Cheng, F., Don, E. K., Nicholson, G. A., Lee, A. & Laird, A. S., 31 Jan 2024, In: FASEB Journal. 38, 2, p. 1-19 19 p., e23429.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus)86 Downloads (Pure) -
Treatment with sodium butyrate induces autophagy resulting in therapeutic benefits for spinocerebellar ataxia type 3
Watchon, M., Robinson, K. J., Luu, L., An, Y., Yuan, K. C., Plenderleith, S. K., Cheng, F., Don, E. K., Nicholson, G. A., Lee, A. & Laird, A. S., 12 Dec 2023, (Submitted) (bioRxiv).Research output: Working paper › Preprint
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Microglia morphophysiological diversity and its implications for the CNS
Vidal-Itriago, A., Radford, R. A. W., Aramideh, J. A., Maurel, C., Scherer, N. M., Don, E. K., Lee, A., Chung, R. S., Graeber, M. B. & Morsch, M., 19 Oct 2022, In: Frontiers in Immunology. 13, p. 1-16 16 p., 997786.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open AccessFile130 Citations (Scopus)306 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
Activities
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PhD Thesis Examination
Emily Don (Examiner)
2021Activity: Higher degree research activities › Examination
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Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences (Organisational unit)
Mitchell Sarkies (Member), Fiona Bright (Member), Katie De Luca (Member), Emre Ilhan (Member), Amy Nguyen (Member), Elizabeth Austin (Member), Ann Carrigan (Member), Karla Seaman (Member), Chris Bladen (Member), Annika van Hummel (Member), Jannah Baker (Member), Robert Ross (Member), Sian Genoud (Member), Emily Don (Chair), Nitin Chitranshi (Member), Rae-Anne Hardie (Chair), Rimante Ronto (Member), Gemma Sicouri (Member), Kelly Williams (Member), Syeda Somyyah Owais (Member), Anna Guller (Member), Robert Newport (Member), Marina Junqueira Santiago (Member), Philippe Gilchrist (Member), Jessamine Chen (Member), Ella Oar (Member), Alison Hogan (Member), Jodie Wills (Member), Kathleen Yin (Member), Gillian Hulst (Member), Benjamin Brown (Member), Loes Koring (Member), Stephney Whillier (Member), Milena Gandy (Member), Carly Johnco (Member), Lauren McLellan (Member) & Michael Swain (Member)
2020 → …Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
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PhD Thesis Examination
Emily Don (Examiner)
2020Activity: Higher degree research activities › Examination
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Honours Thesis Examination
Emily Don (Examiner)
2019Activity: Higher degree research activities › Examination
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Honours Thesis Examination
Emily Don (Examiner)
2019Activity: Higher degree research activities › Examination